China starts criminal probe into disgraced Bo

Sat Oct 27 12:53:16 EST 2012

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Bo Xilai's post as deputy to the parliament has been terminated to make way for a criminal probe.

Reuters: Jason Lee

China has moved quickly to announce the start of a formal criminal probe into disgraced former senior politician Bo Xilai, hours after expelling him from the largely rubber stamp parliament and so removing his immunity from prosecution.

The announcements on Friday (local time) pave the way for Mr Bo, once a contender for top leadership in the world's second largest economy, to face trial and likely a long jail sentence on accusations of corruption and abuse of power.

A brief report by the state-run Xinhua news agency said state prosecutors had "decided to put Bo Xilai under investigation for alleged criminal offences".

It added that they had "imposed coercive measures on him in accordance with the law", likely a reference that he was now officially in detention.

Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have both been jailed over a scandal that stems from the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood while Mr Bo was Communist Party chief of the south-western city of Chongqing.

The government last month accused Mr Bo of corruption and of bending the law to hush up the murder.

The latest move comes a fortnight before the Communist Party holds a congress, which opens on November 8, that will unveil the country's new central leadership.

Mr Bo, 63, was widely seen as pursuing a powerful spot in the new leadership before his career unravelled after Wang fled to a US consulate for more than 24 hours in February and alleged that Mr Bo's wife had poisoned Mr Heywood.

Mr Bo, a former commerce minister, used his post in Chongqing since 2007 to cast the sprawling, haze-covered municipality into a showcase for his mix of populist policies and bold spending plans that won support from leftists yearning for a charismatic leader.

Xinhua provided no other details, such as what charges Mr Bo may face, saying only that the investigation was under way.

Earlier in the day, Xinhua said the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, "announced the termination of Bo Xilai's post" as the deputy to the parliament.

As a member of that body he had enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

Before Mr Bo is charged and tried, investigators must first complete an inquiry and indict him, but China's prosecutors and courts come under party control and are unlikely to challenge the accusations.